Week of 9/25

L & T chapter 5: Sketching Critical and Collaborative Communication

Communication is such a huge topic.  It is a part of almost every aspect of our daily lives both personally and professionally.  It is amazing that the thing we engage in  so often, we are often ineffective doing.  I think the reason for this is that we aren’t always intentional about the process.   According to the Cindy Lassonde and Kristine C. Tucker,  communication is a “back and forth transfer” of information that all of the parties can comprehend and shape more thoughts from the communication (p.83).  What is your definition of communication?

Something that was new to me was the term conversational circles.  Though I have heard of the concept, this provided a more concrete definition than I had in the past.  This is composed of a group of people that meet together with no set agenda.  People simply bring issues or topics that are intriguing them.  Then discussions occur around these topics.  In turn, this information can be used to aid a literacy leader in the establishment of future plans for the school.  Have you all ever been a part of conversational circles?

Proactive leadership is made up of both critical and collaborative communication.  Something that I found interesting was the fact that the authors connected both critical and collaborative communication with the upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, evaluating, re-organizing, and synthesizing.  This can be seen with critical communication in the fact that “speaker” needs to have foresight into the possible problems that might arise in the communication process.  In regards to being a literacy leader, this process allows one to build on people's thoughts providing them ownership and buy-in into the literacy topic.  The thing that stood out to me about collaborative communication was the fact that the collaboration leads to a group creating and producing.  In other word this collaboration leads to actual change or action on the part of the group.

Graphic from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

After reading about the various strategies that lead to proactive communication, is there one you feel like is more of a challenge to you? What do you plan to do to strengthen yourself in that area?

Beyond the strategies mentioned in this chapter, I was intrigued by the thought of a literacy leader keeping a journal.  The authors connected this to “holding thinking still” (p. 91).  This gives a place for introspection.  I can think of many times that I forgot what I had “pondered” after a situation.  If I had taken the time to write down my thoughts, it would have proven helpful.  Do you all keep any kind of journal?  Do you keep one as a student or professional?  What are your thoughts about this?

Dr. Beach asked us to answer questions 1 and 2 on pg. 102.  What types of communication do you feel confident using?  What are your strengths in that area? What types of communication do you feel you struggle or may struggle using? Why? Do you have a plan to strengthen this area? Explain.

EP & L: Strategy 1 and 2

Strategy one discussed how to establish high expectations for students and a faculty atmosphere of collaboration leading to buy-in regarding these expectations.  It seems that we covered some of the materials mentioned in forms 1.1 and 1.2 in part of our needs assessment. Dr. Beach asked us to complete these forms to assist our thinking and growth on the topic.  Did you find any information that will help you build a collaborative atmosphere in the school you surveyed?  Also,  when filling out form 1.2, did you notice any area you want to work on?  Did you see a way to improve that area?  Explain.   

Strategy two discussed the models schools use to establish professional development.  We also covered a few of these topics in our needs assessment that we sent to our respective schools.  Dr. Beach asked us to complete the forms 2.1 and 2.2.  Using the results of the survey, did you discover anything interesting?  Could this help you in the creation of your professional development plan?  Given the texts focus on Common Core, how do you feel like this survey lines up with Oklahoma standards and in turn the PD plan?

Week 9/18 Coaching Strategies 13-17

This week we were engaged in reading about the five parts of the coaching cycle, of which include, setting goals, modeling, co-planning, co-teaching and observing (strategies 13-17). To lump everything together, I would say that off the bat, all of these readings were very informative and seemed to be detailed which I think is perfect for someone (like myself) who is a novice educator and learner of the coaching cycle. Additionally, I think all the forms and templets provided are excellent resources for literacy coaches and teachers to use.

Setting Goals

From the get-go we are told that goal setting is an important and necessary part of the coaching cycle and as a result should be completed prior to the other stages. In my opinion, when this one is completed first, both the teacher and the coach become more focused on what needs to done in order that their teachings/lessons are appropriate and geared toward their objectives or standards. In this section, the SMART goals format was provided as a templet to use for setting goals. I like that our text notes that “a main benefit of SMART goals is that they provide sufficient detail and direction to guide teachers professional learning” (Elish-Piper & L'Allier, 2014, p. 138). As a coach I will definitely implement this format because I think it will help my teacher become more confident with writing goals and the SMART Goal-planning Templet on page 141/2 would be a great example to hand out during our co-planning time.

What is your opinion of the SMART Goals format? Have you ever used it? How did it help you in the process of setting your goals? If not, what format did your coach use with you and how was the process?

http://www.cognology.com.au/learning_center/howtowritesmartobj/

Modeling

One word that stood out to me during this reading was the word “purposeful”. As literacy coaches, modeling for our teachers isn’t just something we must do, but it is a process that should be planned and executed with a purpose in mind. As a coach, modeling is essential to helping the teacher understand how to implement strategies, interact with students, and pace the lesson among other things. Notably, the teacher and the coach should have a pre and post conference before this stage to discuss what should be modeled and what happened after (feedback, questions). Modeling can be hard sometimes but I think implementing this strategy after a teacher conducts a lesson can help them to reflect on what they did before and how they could change it. How important do you think this strategy is for novice teachers when being coached? Have you had any experiences with modeling and if so how did it go?

Co-Planning and Co-Teaching

Co-Planning and Co-Teaching go hand in hand and as identified in the co-teaching strategy reading, the coach and teacher should co-plan before they co-teach. When you think about it, it just makes sense. In order to effectively co-teach, both the coach and teacher need to be aware of the steps each one will take during the lesson, what activities each one will engage in and who will say and do what among other things during the lesson. During the co-planning session goals should also be set in order to guide the co-teaching process. When the coach and teacher engage in these strategies, especially the co-planning one, they are able to collaborate and become familiar with each other’s strengths and weakness thus having the opportunity to devise the perfect plan for co-teaching. Co-planning helps coaches to help teachers become more confident in all that is required, for example, identifying to purpose or objectives of the lesson. All of these strategies are links to the other and cannot work without each other. What are your thoughts about co-planning and co-teaching? Have you had a good or bad experience that you would like to share?

Observing

Even though the strategy of observing is being discussed last, we must remember that it does not always, or need to be last in the coaching cycle. Observing can occur before, during or after either stage. In the coaching cycle, observing helps coaches to gather information and then present what they have noticed to the teachers. When this is done teachers are informed about areas that they may need to improve on to better their instructional practice. In the readings I liked what was said about how coaches should provide feedback. Coaches should avoid evaluation language and use objective language. I think this is a very important point because during post-conferences teachers are already nervous about what is about to be said by the coach. In my opinion, observing is essential for teacher growth and development. Do you think observations are important? Why or why not?

References

Elish-Piper, L., & L'Allier, S. K. (2014). The Common Core Coaching Book: Strategies to Help Teachers Address the K-5 ELA Standards. Guilford Publications.

Blog Week of 9/11 guiding principles article, EP&L strategy, and team coaching

Please do not think you have to answer all the questions asked below. :):)

After reading the guiding principles article that outlined and explained in detail seven guiding principles for literacy coaching I began to think that in most if not all professions/jobs everyone has to abide by some sort of rules or guidelines in order that they may not only succeed but have some structure in their lives/job. As a literacy coach, there is no exception. Take for instance, a waiter will not be able to take an order from a customer, relay the information to the chef, and cash them if he is not trained on how to talk with people and use a cash register. A doctor, cannot practice on their own if they do not specialize in the area in which they love best, meaning they have to learn from the others who are more knowledgeable them themselves in the said job in order to be better at it on their own.

Whereas these individual’s routines may become monotonous (because if they make a mistake they might not be able to correct it) as a literacy coach, you have a plan for working that is deliberate and flexible as it mentioned in principle guideline number 5. In addition, coaching involves working with teachers in an individual or group manner. The dynamics of each interaction are always different.

How do you think team and individual coaching are similar and different?

After reading the guiding principles, which one would you want to focus on in your school? Which one would be the hardest to implement in your school? Why?

As with the information about the coaching cycle on page 181, and the Community Coaching Cohort Model (CCCM) from the Literacy Learning through Team Coaching article, they both involve interaction and communication with the teacher and coach. Not only do the teachers become more comfortable in their ability to teach after they see their coach teach the lessons, but they are able to learn new things resulting in increased student achievement. Not only are students learning new things in new ways but the teachers are as well. These new techniques provide alternatives, guidance, support and create an atmosphere that is conducive to success with continued interest from both individuals.  

     

The gradual release of responsibility if the main goal for both the Coaching Cycle and the Community Coaching Cohort Model (CCCM). 

What obstacles do you think you will encounter while being coached using either the cycle or model? How do you think you will be able to overcome these obstacles?

 In my opinion the two most important ideas about coaching from the readings would be 1. Literacy Coaching addresses the knowledge gab between best practices in literacy and common practices in the classroom and 2. Working with teachers is the focus of literacy coaching. When “gaps” a closed, teachers become more confident in their abilities to render work effectively and the classroom environment becomes easier to work in and of course student achievement increases. Knowing that teachers are the focus of the coaching reassures me that although teachers are in the position of being the “leader/head” of their environment, they have the opportunities to seek assistance to help them continue to grow in their field, which will in turn help their students.

What are two most important ideas about coaching from the readings and why? 

Week 9/5 - EP&L 1&2 ; WSQ 3

The Common Core Coaching Book

Chapters 1& 2

Chapter 1 focused on “literacy coaching and change”.  The text referred to literacy coaches as leaders of the change process or leading the charge for change in a building.  As I was reading this it made me reflect on literacy leaders in my building or even leaders in general who typically present new information during professionally development.  I thought about how it was presented, how the climate felt before, during and after the new information was presented and how it affected me as a classroom teacher.  When the text discussed the two key ideas that are essential for literacy coaches teaching new content, it was an “ah-ha” moment that I completely agree with.  There are times when coaches present new information that they are not familiar with or do not have a support system to bounce ideas or assist with and those presentations are not as effective. 

I am one of those people who cringe when I hear the word “change”.  Change is hard!  “Change is a consistent part of education” (pg. 8).  There are not truer words! 

Looking at Figure 2, the concerns-based adoption model, reflect upon a time when you have faced a new change presented by a literacy leader.  What stages did you go through?  Did you experience all the stages?  How does identifying with adults and these stages help us as literacy leaders?  Is this model beneficial to share with teachers? 

Chapter 2 identified important tools to be an effective literacy coach.  I enjoyed reading the part about having a purpose as a literacy coach.  I think it is important to establish your purpose and goals with your colleagues so that they know what to expect from you as a resource for your building.  

What would your purpose statement be as a literacy coach?  What would you want your colleagues to understand about your work? 

The Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs

Chapter 1

This chapter discussed how to effectively create a comprehensive reading plan.  There are three essential elements that correlate with one another that make a reading plan effective.  Those elements include the standards and curriculum, instruction and assessment of student learning. 

Taking a closer look at the standards and curriculum element, do you feel as though the Oklahoma Standards portray an effective literacy curriculum?  (Refer to Figure 1.3 on page 23 for Questions to Consider) What kinds of assessments do you use to assess the standards?  Have you seen or does your school vertically align literacy standards so that there is consistency within the school?

Blog Week of 8/29- L&T 3-4; WSQ 1

*Don’t feel like you have to answer all of these questions. They are simply to help aid in conversation.

It was interesting to discover the reading this week beginning with a reference to “Painting a Vision of Literacy Leadership”.  Friday I had the opportunity to go to the OKC Museum of Fine Arts to experience the Matisse exhibit entitled “Matisse in His Time.”  This exhibit not only showed his paintings and other art he created, but focused on the exchange that was made between himself and other artists of his time and following his time. It was amazing to see how each artist influenced the other through collaboration and even competition.  Without this exchange between the artists much of the artwork created would have been vastly different.  The creations we have the opportunity to view were only made possible through the connection/ collaboration and influence of other artists. I found myself desiring to be apart of a community that was creative like these artists.  They spent time painting and using various mediums to create art through collaboration.  Then I realized that as literacy leaders we have this same creative outlet with a different product in mind.  Our collaboration and discussions have profound influences on the direction that literacy moves in our nation.  What is your painting of literacy leadership? What vision do you hope to portray as a literacy leader?

The text mentions three main goals of literacy leaders: (1) improving evidence-based pedagogy, (2) improving the achievements of every student served, and (3) having a positive effect on the school culture. Goal one can be accomplished a variety of ways, but I appreciated what the authors wrote about this.  “Literacy leaders seek to meet the needs of teachers and staff so literacy pedagogy reflects up-to-date, evidence-based strategies, methods, and approaches that reflect the findings of current research in the field.” (p. 47) In regards to goal two a key focus was  the fact that we should be advocates for children. The third goal also supported the role of being an anthropologist.  How can literacy leaders become advocate for children especially in today’s educational environment?  

I can see the importance of having bottom-up professional development when possible.  This means PD is teacher and student-need driven.  This can be achieved through a variety of ways.  One that I liked was a PD menu.  Just as we give students choice and help them establish their own learning goals, we need to do the same for teachers.  Which of the professional development principles mentioned on pg. 52 stood out to you? Why?

Professional development is by nature adult learning, andragogy.  Adult learning varies from a younger student in many ways, though there are a few similarities.  “Honoring adult learners is the spirit of literacy leadership.” (p. 67) The text mentions 6 key principles for equipping adult learners.  The one that really stood out to me was providing teachers with the rationale behind the need to learn something new and the time to prepare for and implement the change effectively.  I have seen many things that leaders said were the “new thing” that left as fast as they came.  Teachers need the power to create their own trajectory with the literacy leader walking alongside them in the journey.  I fixated on the thought that literacy leaders need to adult learning specialist.  How do you plan to make professional development productive for all involved? How can we be adult learning specialists?

As literacy leaders and adult learning specialists, we can’t just establish our own goals in an arbitrary manner.  They need to be chosen according to a Comprehensive Reading Plan.  This plan is a district plan that identifies goals based on standards and needs, reflection on the curriculum and assessments used, and develops a systematic process.  Since this is a blog, I will be candid.  I have no idea what my district's comprehensive reading program states.  I am going to work on discovering this info this week.  Do you all know your comprehensive reading plan (or, if you aren’t teaching have you heard of one)?  What are your thoughts about it?  

Thinking about all of these elements reinforces in my mind the fact that being a literacy leader, reading specialist, and adult learning specialist is a complex process.  Just as a piece of art often has different layers and hues, so to should the plans we establish.  These layers and hues of paint could easily form into a mess rather than a beautiful work of art.  If we hope to be agents of change, we need to be thoughtful and purposeful in everything we do, leading to a wonderful painting of literacy leadership.